Hello there plant pals! 

It’s 21st March 2022 and we are celebrating International Forest Day! The theme for this year’s IFD is sustainable production and consumption and we are so so glad to be touching on this topic! Our world these days have been blessed with professional chefs and home cooks giving us recipes of meals we can cook from our very own garden at home. A pretty amazing way to save the earth and save some grocery money! 

We at Chye Heng have always encouraged people to grow their own herbs and fruit trees at home or in their backyard garden as our herbs and fruit trees here are organic and free of harmful chemicals. Moreover, we have been catering to the neighbourhood crowd for years and we have picked up a few tips on what we can use the herbs for! Mmm, the taste of home cooked food!

Herbs are generally easy to maintain as long as you provide them sufficient light and water! Rule of thumb – bright light, well ventilated spaces & water them once every 2-4 days, once the top inch of the soil is dry! 

Today, we will be introducing to you a few recipes that you can try out at home to cook for you and your family. 

1. Thai Basil Chicken/Beef/Pork Rice

This homemade dish is a classic favourite for alot of our customer coming in to purchase a Thai Basil Plant! You can be the judge of how much basil you want to include in your dish, the more leaves the stronger the taste of course! 2 servings typically require about 15-20 leaves. So, one plant alone can serve about 6-8 pax (or more)! Plus, herbs like basil tend to be fast growing so rest assured you will always have your fill of thai basil chicken rice! 

With the quick cooking time for this dish, it is definitely hassle free and quick to your tummy! 

We have found a recipe you can use here: Thai Basil Chicken Rice Recipe

Herbs used (that we also have!):

– Thai Basil 

– Chilli Padi

2. Laksa

Everyone in Singapore loves a good bowl of laksa (we hope! how could you not!). Yeah sure it’s easy to just tabao laksa from your nearest hawker center but wouldn’t it be lovely to have a family get-together to cook up a steaming hot bowl of laksa? We sure love that for ourselves! And sure, laksa might not be the easiest dish to cook up as you need to ensure you nail the taste. But what is there to worry about? Afterall, home cooked meals are always made from love and always greatly appreciated! So don’t worry, have abit of fun with it! You might just find yourself cooking up something that your loved ones will keep coming back for more as there is something unique about it! 

The herbs used in laksa broth are typically strong in flavour, which means you do not need alot at all to prepare a good hot bowl. One pot can go a long way, plant pals!

We have found a recipe you can use here: Singapore Laksa Recipe

Herbs used (that we also have!)

– Kaffir Lime Leaves

– Lemongrass

– Chilli Padi 

3. Steak 

Yes, we have all turned into Gordon Ramsay ever since his video on how to cook the perfect steak came out. Let’s be real, we all cook steak the same now, after knowing his tips and tricks to cooking the most tender and buttery steak. Oof, mouth-watering! The key to this is simple really, butter, salt, rosemary and thyme. And of course, perfect timing. But you’ll get the hang of it. 

Using just a sprig of thyme and rosemary, you are able to flavour the heck out of that juicy juicy steak. One pot of thyme and rosemary will definitely go a long way in this recipe. And come on, it’s steak! Let’s not over complicate this beauty. 

We have found THE recipe for you here: Gordon Ramsay’s Steak Recipe

Herbs used (that we also have!) 

– Rosemary

– Thyme

4. Mojito Cocktail/Mocktail

Now this is a TGIF (or rather everyday) drink. Easy to drink and easy to love. Let’s be real, a mojito is a simple yet refreshing alcoholic beverage that we all come to know and love. Don’t drink? No worries, you can make a mojito mocktail and guuurl we will have you making more. A very easy recipe that will keep you refreshed and buzzed all evening (or afternoon, we don’t judge). 

One glass of mojito only requires 1-2 leaves, so rest assured, one pot will last you jugs and jugs. A sure buzz, or even more! 

We have found a recipe here you can use: Mojito Recipe

(feel free to replace rum with sprite or tonic water if you don’t consume alcohol!) 

Herbs used (that we also have!):

– Mint

– Lime

5. Lemon Pie

Here comes the desserts~ Lemon is so so versatile. You find them in appetisers, mains, desserts and beverages. Today we will be sharing the lemon pie recipe that you might want to try out! A sweet treat to end your meal, is there a better way? Lemons are great fruits to incorporate into foods as you can use them for multiple purposes – their pulps, their skin, their juice. Oof! 

We have found a recipe for you to use: Lemon Pie Recipe

Fruits used (that we have too!): 

– Lemons

6. Lemongrass Butter Prawn 

Mmmm, fragrant fragrant prawns. Unless you are allergic, there’s no reason to not love this dish. Infused with herbs and alot of asian flavours, this dish will definitely be a great hit at family dinners. Be there to impress! This is actually a great recipe to utilise alot of herbs in your home garden as it uses a bunch of herbs like pandan leaves, lemongrass, curry leaves and chilli padi. Feel free to add in whatever else herbs you’d like to try out. Mix and match! 

We have found a recipe for you: Lemongrass Butter Prawn 

Herbs used (that we have too!):

– Pandan leaves

– Lemongrass

– Chilli Padi 

– Curry leaves

7. Kueh Bakar (Kueh Pandan)

Please tell me you’ve tried kueh bakar at least once in your life if you’re living in Singapore. A must have kueh during festive seasons. Tastes and smells of nostalgia and your grandmother’s cooking huh? Learning this dish will guarantee you approved by aunties. 

Might need abit of patience and tries to get the pandan juice, but it’s all going to be worth it. 

We have found a recipe for you: Kueh Bakar Recipe

Herbs used (that we have too!):

– Pandan Leaves

8. Different kinds of Pastas

Pastas are a no brainer when it comes to what you can use herbs for. Multitude of herbs for you to choose from to accompany the different sauces for your pasta. Look no further (than your home garden) for you will have fresh herbs. Also, we heard that fresh herbs always elevate the taste of your pasta compared to store bought bottled herbs. So, what’s the harm? 

We have found a recipe for you to use: Five Fresh Herbs Pasta

Herbs used (that we have too!): 

– Basil

– Oregano

– Thyme

– Parsley 

9. Mediterranean Wild Rice with Olives and Tomatoes 

This is a dish that definitely isn’t commonly cooked in Singapore but once in awhile we might find ourselves exploring something out of our usual comfort food zone. We may not have tried this recipe ourselves but it sure looks enough for us to want to try it out! Especially since we conveniently have an olive tree resting in our nursey. 

We have found a recipe for you to use: Mediterranean Wild Rice with Olives and Tomatoes

Herbs & Fruits used (that we have too!):

– Olives

– Tomatoes

10. Medicine

One perk of opening stores in a neighbourhood is the aunties coming up to us and telling us what they use various herbs for! We have heard alot of them using herbs for medicinal purposes which have healing properties. For example, they use neem for neem oil, bidara (jujube), citronella and alot of other plants. Psst, ask around, you’d be able to find something that works for you too! We are not experts in this field so please use herbs and fruit trees at your own risk and research! 

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Here are the 10 things you can try out with your home garden. From garden to table, sustainable production and consumption is possible as long as we put in some effort to sustain our garden! A little goes a long way, it’s not going to be the easiest journey but we can all start somewhere.

A few tips for growing your herbs: 

• Make sure your herbs are getting plenty of sunlight. No dark and stuffy areas. Keep it bright and well ventilated
• Water your herbs at least once every 2-3 days, or when the top inch of the soil is dry. 
• You can try watering your plants in the morning where root absorption is at its most efficient
• Keep soil medium airy and well draining to prevent root rot. Try mixing in some compost!
• Adding organic fertiliser and nutrients to your plants will promote faster and better growth 
• Use clean water to water your plants and not water that contain chemicals

That’s all from us today plant pals! Do tag us on social media or let us know how it went if you try out any of the recipes above!

Happy International Day of the Forests, keep loving nature and your plants. x